The government has submitted a proposal to make Modifications to O. Reg. 311/06 (Transitional Matters - Growth Plans) made under the Places to Grow Act, 2005 to implement the Proposed Amendment to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017.
OSSGA has made the point to the government that the current policy framework is not working. Approvals for new mineral aggregate operations in Southern Ontario are taking up to 10 years to complete the process. There are too many overlapping policies and inconsistent approaches between the Provincial Plans, Regional Official Plans, Local Official Plans and Conservation Authority policies regarding the management of this essential non-renewable resource.

Please be advised that there have been changes made to Aggregate Specifications for OPSS 1002, April 2018.
This revised specification has been included in several MTO tender documents recently, most notably MTO Contract #2018-2024, Hwy 400 & Hwy 89 Interchange, Closing Feb. 14, 2019 and has raised concerns with many suppliers.

OSSGA is looking for a pit or quarry to serve as the host site for the 2019 Student Design Competition. Members must have a geo-referenced computer drawing of the final rehabilitation plan, PDF copies of your site plans, and be required to provide multiple tours for participating students. The program challenges Ontario university and college students to put their design skills to work by creating a rehabilitation design that maximizes the opportunities that the site will offer.

Ontario Government Issues Press Release on OMB Reform

May 16, 2017 at 4:18 PM

The Provincial Government issued a press release earlier today announcing new legislation to create the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal which would replace the Ontario Municipal Board. The release is below. It says that the new legislation will be tabled in a few weeks.

OSSGA’s original submission to the OMB review is available here. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

Ontario is taking action to overhaul the province's land use planning appeals system to give communities a stronger voice and ensure people have access to faster, fairer and more affordable hearings.

In the coming weeks, legislation will be introduced to create the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, which would, if passed, replace the Ontario Municipal Board. The new tribunal would be mandated to give greater weight to the decisions of local communities, while ensuring that development and growth occurs in a way that is good for Ontario and its future. This would be achieved by eliminating lengthy and costly "de novo" hearings for the majority of planning appeals. The term "de novo" has been used to describe how the Ontario Municipal Board deals with appeals of municipal land use planning decisions, by considering the same issue that was before the municipality as though no previous decision had been made.

Ontario would also make planning appeals more accessible to the public by creating the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre, a new agency that would provide free information and support, which may include representation at the tribunal for citizens who want to participate in the appeal process.

The new legislation would include additional measures to transform Ontario's land use planning appeals system, including:

• Exempting a broader range of major land use planning decisions from appeal, including new Official Plans, major Official Plan updates and detailed plans to support growth in major transit areas.
• Establishing a mandatory case conference for complex hearings to encourage early settlements, which would help reduce the time and cost of appeals and create a less adversarial system.

The proposed changes follow extensive public consultations, beginning with the release of a consultation paper in October 2016. The government received more than 1,100 written submissions and held 12 town hall meetings across the province that were attended by more than 700 people.
Improving the land use planning system is part of Ontario's plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

QUICK FACTS

• The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal would be an independent tribunal that makes decisions at arms’ length from the government. If the legislation passes, it would replace the Ontario Municipal Board, which began in 1906 as the Ontario Railway and Municipal Board.
• In 2015-2016 (the most recent year for which data is available), 1,460 matters were referred to the Ontario Municipal Board from across the province.